Strategy and Foresight Hub
Have you ever asked yourself what kind of a world we might find ourselves living in 5, 10 or 20 years from now? Will the science fiction of today become the reality of tomorrow? How might life in Switzerland evolve? How could universities reply to future challenges and opportunities waiting for them around the corner?
Established in the Office of the President, ETH’s Strategy and Foresight Hub provides the space, guidance, tools and methodologies to all ETH community members interested in applied strategy and foresight. The power of the Hub lies in its ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders in a creative and non-partisan manner to facilitate new, refreshing perspectives concerning future developments of relevance – near or far.
Strategy
Strategy development (or strategic planning) is key to guiding decision making, resource allocation and priority-setting. The Hub accompanies ETH Zurich in the development and delivery of its institutional strategic planning processes (both long and short term). It also provides tools, guidance and process support to the ETH departments and non-departmental units as they embark on their strategic planning journeys.
Foresight
Foresight activities enable individuals to explore more distant futures and potential impacts of long-term developments in a safe and creative environment. The Hub continuously scans trends and issues driving change in the higher education space in the longer term. It analyzes the potential impact of such developments on universities, more broadly, and ETH Zurich, more specifically. In addition, the Hub co-creates and facilitates diverse foresight workshops, tailored to the needs of the different ETH units with which it collaborates.
ETH Zurich’s Institutional Priorities
The Hub assists ETH Zurich in the development of its long-term institutional priorities. In 2021, ETH Zurich’s Executive Board launched a process to reflect on how ETH Zurich envisions its long-term evolution – as a future-fit university committed to its primary mission of serving society. The ETH Zurich community was then involved in defining the institution's long-term priorities, which address cross-cutting issues relevant to the entire institution. The 2025–2036 timeframe was selected, as it aligns with three shorter, four-year planning cycles in which the institution regularly engages.
ETH Zurich’s Development Plan and Target Agreement
The Hub also assists ETH Zurich in the development of its Institutional Development Plan and Target Agreement. For the period between 2025 and 2028, in its Development Plan, ETH Zurich formulated specific institutional objectives and measures linked to its core activities and success factors. Furthermore, the Hub supports the university in the articulation of the Target Agreement for the period between 2025 – 2028. More specifically, ETH’s Development Plan and the Strategic Objectives of the Federal Council form the basis of a formal Target Agreement between ETH Zurich and the ETH Board. This Agreement allows ETH Zurich to articulate and concisely communicate its focus and planning aspirations at the ETH Domain level.
The Hub has established and nurtures various types of communities and organizes a wide range of events. These include:
Friends of Foresight is a community of individuals interested in exploring a wide range of futuristic topics. This community is open to all members of ETH Zurich (including staff, students, researchers etc.) It engages in foresight discussions on forward-looking themes through various events (such as Foresight Aperos) throughout the year. Contact us and join this multi-disciplinary community. and join this multi-disciplinary community!
ETH Zurich’s Foresight Champions are an internal task force comprised of representatives of the Executive Board Members’ teams and ETH’s Associate Vice Presidents. This community meets on a regular basis throughout the year to examine emerging developments and trends of relevance to the higher education space while assessing their potential impact on our university.
ETH’s Strategy Circle is an informal internal community of practitioners engaged in strategy development and implementation in their respective organizational units. This community interacts in various formats throughout the year to collaborate and share learnings and best practices to further enhance strategic planning at ETH.
Drivers of Change for Global Higher Education
The world is becoming more complex, as are the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of universities around the globe. What forces and long-term developments are likely to drive change in the higher education landscape of the future? To explore some ideas regarding the issues and trends likely to shape how universities will teach, research and interact with society at large in the years to come, the Hub has created a collection of analyses called the Drivers of Change for Global Higher Education. In this context, six lenses were chosen – social, technological, economic, environmental, political and legal (STEEPL) – to allow us to examine a wide range of forces of relevance.
If you would like to access the website with the drivers-dedicated analyses, please .
Customized Projects
The Hub accompanies a wide range of tailored activities, focusing on the exploration of the future contexts and their implications. Among others, the team assists in scoping and executing foresight projects on specific topics of interest to Departments, Institutes or other administrative units across the entire university. If a member of the ETH Zurich community is interested in discussing how scenarios, back-casting, horizon scanning or other strategic foresight tools could be integrated into or used in their work, the Hub is here to help. The Hub also supports Departments and other ETH units in their strategy development processes.
Examples of past projects include:
The Hub collaborated with the Rector’s team to explore the potential evolution of learning and teaching between today and 2040. This foresight project was part of a broader exploratory journey under the leadership of the Rectorate which resulted in the articulation of ETH’s 2040 Vision for Teaching.
For more information, please take a look at the following webpage.
In 2023, the Hub organized a public exhibition in the Main Building of ETH Zurich, inviting the broader public to explore the trends that are likely to drive change in the higher education landscape in the future. The exhibition was open to all interested individuals passing through ETH’s premises. It was accompanied by a wide range of sessions, fostering a forward-looking dialogue about the universities of the future.
The Hub designed and moderated a foresight retreat for the leadership of the World Food System Center. The core aim of the retreat was the exploration of forward-looking trends and questions that could assist the Center in reflecting on its future strategic activities.
In 2022, the Hub invited the ETH community to travel to the year 2040 and describe everyday life in the future. Our time travelers shared visions of their everyday life at a hybrid university in the year 2040 in inspiring essays. The essay chosen by the public, as well as the one chosen by the Hub, were further developed, analyzed using foresight methods, and published as a booklet.
Don’t hesitate to contact us!
Are you interested in learning more about our activities? Would you like to share insights about your experiences in the areas of strategy or foresight? Are you intrigued by our work and would like to explore a potential collaboration? Are you a member of the ETH community in the need of support in your strategy or foresight endeavors? We are here for you!
Please do not hesitate to .